MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.

8/31 Castro 5th among NL hitters

Cubs rookie Starlin Castro now has enough at-bats to qualify for the National League batting title. The shortstop entered Tuesday’s game ranked fifth in the NL at .313.

“He still has plenty of adjustments to make and lots to learn,” Cubs manager Mike Quade said. “The fact that he got off to a good start and had a little down period and recovered very quickly to do what he’s doing now, that’s a really good sign. You go around the league one time and everybody gets a look at you and if you can finish strong after everyone has had the look, that says a lot about your talent at the plate.”

Castro most likely will play in the Dominican Winter League in the second half of the season. His team? Escogido, whose general manager is former Cubs outfielder Moises Alou.

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